2006 Mumbai train blasts: Bombay High Court acquits all 12 accused, CM Fadnavis says ‘will move Supreme Court’

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said his government will challenge the Bombay High Court’s acquittal of all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case in the Supreme Court, calling the verdict “very shocking”. “I will go through the entire order. I have discussed the matter with the lawyers, and the high court verdict will be challenged in the Supreme Court,” Fadnavis told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court overturned the convictions and sentences of 12 men held guilty by a special court in 2015, saying the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove their involvement in the coordinated train blasts that killed over 180 people on July 11, 2006.

A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak noted that the evidence presented was inconclusive and failed to even establish the type of explosives used in the attacks. The court also rejected the state government’s plea to confirm the death penalties handed to five of the convicts.

What the court said

In its 671-page verdict, the Bombay High Court said: “Punishing the actual perpetrators of a crime is a concrete and essential step toward curbing criminal activity, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the safety and security of citizens. However, pretending to have solved a case, merely showing that the accused have been brought to justice, creates only an illusion of resolution. Such a misleading conclusion not only erodes public confidence but also gives society a false sense of reassurance, while in reality, the true danger continues to roam free. This, in essence, reflects the truth of this case.”

The ruling came nearly 19 years after seven blasts ripped through Mumbai’s suburban trains during the evening rush hour, killing 189 and injuring more than 800 people.